Sunday, 22 January 2017

In the small West Yorkshire town of Shipley, near Bradford, a contingent of self-described "feminist zealots" yesterday marched in solidarity with their American sisters past the constituency office of their local MP - the Trump-supporting, feminist bete noir Philip Davies. More than 400 people initially said they would be attending on Facebook, but more than 1,000 people reportedly turned out for the march when it began at noon, according to the local organisers Shipley Feminist Zealots.

The group is connected to other groups organising protests around the world under the umbrella of Sister Marches. One of its members, Jenny Wilson, told The Independent it feels like "our little march in Shipley" was part of a much bigger movement.

She said: "There will be tens of thousands in London, but there will only be hundreds in Shipley, and [people will ask] does that matter? Well it does matter because it is part of a global movement of people saying that equality, unity, peace and standing up for people who don't have the opportunity to stand up for themselves matters. I feel that is terribly important."

She dismissed claims from people who say protesters should shut up and respect the election result, saying that "is not how democracy works". Nor is the march just for women on the left. Referring to an open letter to the group from Mr Davies, which accused them of using "feminism to disguise their socialism", Ms Wilson said the march was not partisan and claims that they were pushing a party political agenda were ridiculous.